Due to the recent spread of portable (including wearable) electronic devices with compact designs, batteries for supplying electric power to those devices are required to be thinner, more flexible, and more stretchable. Energy storage devices, such as supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which are able to sustain large strains (much greater than 1%) under complex deformations (for instance, bending, tension/compression, and torsion) are indispensable components for flexible, stretchable electronics. Recently, wearable electronics, such as flexible displays, stretchable circuits, hemispherical electronic eyes, and epidermal electronics have emerged. Various approaches have been employed to achieve flexible and stretchable energy storage devices, such as thin film based bendable supercapacitors and batteries, buckling-based stretchable supercapacitors, and island-serpentine-based stretchable LIBs. Recently, an origami-based approach was adopted to develop highly deformable LIBs, where standard LIBs were produced followed by designated origami folding. The folding endows the origami LIB with a high level of deformability by changing the LIB from a planar state to a folded state. In this way, the LIBs are capable of being incorporated into portable and wearable electronic devices.
However, previously developed origami-based flexible and stretchable devices have two disadvantages. First, their stretchability is limited from the folded state to the planar state. Although it can be tuned by different folding patterns, the constraint is still prescribed by the planar state. As such, their deformability is limited and, as such, their use is limited. Second, the folded state involves uneven surfaces, which may introduce inconvenience when integrating with functional devices.
Therefore, there remains a need for a flexible and stretchable battery that is stretchable beyond its planar state while still remaining functional. Further, flexible and stretchable batteries that can be integrated within portable and wearable electronic devices are desired.